As 2019 election fast approaches and Nigerians gear up for the forthcoming elections, politicians and political parties in Plateau state are beginning to strategize, capitalising on their strengths and the weaknesses of rival parties.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state led by Governor Simon Lalong strongly believes that the works of the present administration are the lucky card that the party can play to win the game.
The chairman of the Vote Lalong Again (VOLA) team, IliyaAjang, is of the opinion that they need no much strategy as the work of the governor will speak for him.
“This administration has constructed 22 new roads of more than 20km each in the 17 Local Government Areas of the state. Governor Lalong has continued with the project of the last administration, initiated project of road construction to Mararaba Jama, Miango Road, State and Federal Lowcosts, Donkat Bali and Tudunwada Ring Road”.
Speaking on agriculture, he said the Fertilizer Blending Plant that was abandoned in Bokkos with just 22 staff for eight years has been revamped and now has 234 workers running three shifts per day under the leadership of Lalong.
“We are not only supplying fertilizer to Plateau State but to the neigbouring Nassarawa State and we are moving towards food security in the state. In fact farmers are saying this is the best administration ever, they have access to fertilizer easily and value has been added to their farm produce,” he added.
Ajang also said that the works of Lalong is visible for the electorate to see in the area of education as many PTA teachers paid N5000 to N10000 per month and could not give their best have been employed as 800 teachers and 200 non- teaching staff were recently employed.
He also noted that the present administration has scored a point in peace and stability in the state saying “we have a peace agency started in Plateau State by this administration; we have achieved peace in Plateau State that is why the president is using Plateau State as a model for other states in the country”.
On the issue of Obasanjo’s coalition, Ajang said “I concur that the coalition is dead on arrival. I have seen PDP break into two, some are joining SDP so nobody is talking about Obasanjo’s coalition. Ironically after former President Obasanjo said that President Buhari should go and rest, he later confessed that Buharisucceeded where they have failed when the modular refinery was commissioned in Bayelsa. It is the same Buhari constructing tarred road in Otuoke the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s village”.
According to him the only opposition he believes the ruling APC has in Plateau State is PDP “because we dethroned them and can be seen as the party present but not to be feared. Plateau people know them, what they could not do we are doing, during the PDP administration in the state projects were concentrated in only one ethnic group but now projects are spread all over the 17 Local Government Areas in the state. The PDP is weak and may just be strategizing for many years to come”.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) however in its reaction, believes that the ruling party in the state has failed woefully adding that this failure is to its advantage.
The Plateau State Secretary of PDP Emma Tuang said the past administration of Jonah Jang of the PDP initiated most of the projects that the President Buhari came to commission. Tuang said “their failure is a campaign in the favour of the PDP. We are maximally happy that there is complete disenchantment and Nigerians have tasted the bitter aspect of change in Plateau State. We have no problem; we are fully ready to remove Lalong come 2019″.
Tuang, said that over 20 candidates have indicated interest in contesting for governorship of the state on the platform of the PDP but will only be taken seriously when they have purchased the Expression of Interest form stressing that “PDP is a fertile ground. The bad eggs in PDP are now in APC, PDP is not afraid of anything”.
He however believes that the Obasanjo’s coalition is an uphill task and queried why Obasanjo, who he said is a respected elder statesman and was part of the APC change, is distancing himself from it. He stated that “politics need a lot of structures on ground. Winning elections is at the ward level and people bought into the APC change because they needed a change”.
He therefore stated that the APC on the Plateau cannot use the power of incumbency to win election adding that “the change has given the worse and people should vote according to their conscience and protect their votes, nobody needs to be told.”
The Action Democratic Party ( ADP), a party gaining recognition on the Plateau prides itself as being a party distinct from the ruling APC and the major opposition party, the PDP.
Chairman of the party in Plateau state, Nanyah Daman, said the party is adopting the “Option A Four” system of party primaries where every card carrying member will have a say in the election and selection of candidates. “Before now political parties allow money bags to hijack politics but this system that is determined by the popularity of a candidate allows for the best candidate with the know how,” he said.
Nanyah, who enumerated the party’s ideals as all inclusive, youth and women driven, party supremacy and candidate’s popularity said “ADP believes in all- inclusive governance, President Buhari and Governor Lalong are known for nepotistic appointments. Every tribe will be included in the ADP government on the Plateau”.
“The reappointment of commissioners is ridiculous. Out of the previous 17 commissioners only 6 did not return, the governor increased the commissioners to 23 with no youth. We are the ones that solicited for a change of cabinet because the previous ones were not performing but the whole process is now a total failure”.
“Elective positions and appointments will be given to women and youths 25 percent each and ADP believes in party supremacy. NPN and NPP chairmen were very powerful in 1979. Solomon Lar got feedback from the people generated from the grassroots then and projects emanated from the people themselves unlike what we have today that you see abandoned project because the project is not necessarily what the people need but the initiative of the government,” he added.
The chairman said ADP is ready to take over power from APC on the Plateau because of the failure of the government adding that employment of teachers in the state benefitted the Goemai extract, the ethnic group of Governor Lalong or people who paid their ways in.
The recent suspension of tricycle riders in the state according to Daman is an action that will work against Lalong in 2019 stressing that “even those belonging to APC said they will vote ADP”.
Nanyah said that the ADP fits well into the description of former President Obasanjo’s coalition even though they are not part of the coalition saying “we are a third force and fast growing party with structure and our presidential candidate just turned 37. Obasanjo is a booster to the party as “even PLAISEC is commending us for bringing in the force and we do not have recycled faces”.
He therefore advised Plateau people not to repeat the mistake of 2015 and “not to throw away the baby with the bath out of annoyance. We should allow this new baby to grow to industralize Plateau, boost agriculture and allow faster development” he said.
Hope Ikwe Dosunmu, Jos
